In India, a simple method is used to catch monkey. A banana is placed inside a large pot that has a narrow neck. A curious monkey will come to examine the pot. When he discovers the fruit inside, he reaches in to grasp it. Holding the banana, he can no longer remove his hand through the narrow neck of the pot. In his greed, the unfortunate monkey will not let go of the fruit, even though it results in his capture.

We are like that monkey when we are held captive by our wrong desires. We grasp for material treasure, but in the long run our craving gives us only suffering. Selfish desire prevents us from being satisfied with ourselves as we are. It keeps us from realizing our true divine nature. We hold tantalizing images before our eyes and then we suffer because we cannot attain them. Desire keeps our minds spinning. It allows us no opportunity to find peace.

People suffer because they have all kinds of unreasonable desires and they pine to fulfill them and they fall. They attach too much value to the objective world. It is only when attachment increases that you suffer pain and grief.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1

Suffering also results from our past misdeeds. Through many lives lived in ignorance of spiritual principles; we have built a store of karma. The consequences of those previous actions pursue us like an unpaid debt. Through carelessness or evil intent, we may have added to the suffering of others, and even in this life the results seek us out. After the last log is thrown on a fire, the fire continues to burn for sometime. But when we gain detachment, we can be unaffected by the heat. Usually suffering does not originate in external events; it stems from our attachment to results. Two people who suffer a similar loss may be affected very differently.

Strike a green tamarind fruit with a stone and you cause harm to the pulp inside, but strike the ripe fruit and see what happens. It is the dry rind that falls off; nothing affects the pulp or the seed. The ripe sadhaka (aspirant) does not feel the blows of fate or fortune; it is the unripe man who is wounded by every blow.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4

Joy and suffering are inseparable companions. Both are natural consequences of our attachment to objects of desire. When we get the things we want, we are happy. If we do not get them, we are sad. When we acquire inner peace, we are not buffeted by the ups and downs of the world. We then acquire spiritual peace that is not conditioned by desire for earthly prosperity. With time, we learn to accept joy and grief with equal-mindedness. Then we avoid unnecessary suffering.

Joy and grief are the obverse and reverse of the same experience. Joy is when grief ends; grief is when joy ends. When you invite a blind man for dinner, you must set on the table two plates, for he comes along with another man who will lead him in. grief and joy are inseparable companions.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4